Routine Use of Contrast on Admission Transthoracic Echocardiography for Heart Failure Reduces the Rate of Repeat Echocardiography during Index Admission.

Background: The authors retrospectively evaluated the impact of ultrasound enhancing agent (UEA) use in the first transthoracic echocardiographic (TTE) examination, regardless of baseline image quality, on the number of repeat TTEs and length of stay (LOS) during a heart failure (HF) admission.

Methods: There were 9,115 HF admissions associated with admission TTE examinations over a 4-year period (5,337 men; mean age, 67.6 ± 15.

Sex hormone levels and sexual dysfunction in men after coronary artery bypass graft.

Background: Sexual dysfunction is one of the most common problems in men after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). Etiology of sexual dysfunction in these patients may be psychological or organic due to hormonal changes.

Objective: The purpose was to evaluate the incidence and type of sexual dysfunction and changes in serum concentration of sex hormones in male patients undergoing on-pump CABG.